Zombies pop out from dark corners of a haunted house and the Velociraptor coaster throttles passengers within a misty simulated rain forest dubbed the Lost Valley.

As it stands now, stir-crazy families in Dubai - a tourism and financial hub which already boasts the world's tallest building - have few places to stretch their legs beyond expensive malls while temperatures outside can approach 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).

Even an indoor ski slope, complete with real-life penguins, has not been enough to stanch the exodus that leaves roads and public spaces eerily quiet through the hot months.

"Dubai still suffers from a certain amount of seasonality during the June, July, August period," Lennard Otto, CEO of the new $1 billion attraction, told Reuters.

"We will hopefully drive tourism in those periods to make Dubai an all-year-round destination," he said, ahead of the theme park's Aug. 31 opening.

"Today there's a gap in this market and in the region. People are actually travelling to the far east and the far west to experience theme parks," Otto said.
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